Origi awarded Promising Talent honour

Divock Origi's displays throughout 2014 were acknowledged with a prestigious prize as the Liverpool loanee became the recipient of Belgium's Promising Talent of the Year award.

Origi signed for the Reds in July, linking up with the squad during their tour of the United States in order to complete the switch, before returning to Lille to fulfil a further spell with the Ligue 1 outfit.

Brendan Rodgers had been keeping tabs on the striker prior to this summer's FIFA World Cup in Brazil; however, it was there that the 19-year-old announced himself to a global audience with a series of strong displays.

Having been brought into Belgium's squad to replace the injured Christian Benteke, Origi made his international debut in a pre-tournament warm-up contest with Luxembourg soon after.

Out in Brazil, he set pulses racing, grabbing a late winner to decide a tight contest and earn his side a 1-0 triumph over Russia in the group stage.

The Belgian Sportsman of the Year is announced each December and has been awarded since 1967. This year, Chelsea's Thibaut Courtois became the first footballer to scoop the main prize.

The Promising Talent of the Year award was added to the honours list in 1998, when tennis star Kim Clijsters picked up the inaugural award. In 2009, Romelu Lukaku, now an Everton player, picked up the honour.

Origi became the latest youngster to scoop the trophy - which was voted for by Belgian sports writers and former winners - although he was unable to collect the prize in person due to footballing commitments with Lille.

Kristof Terreur, a Belgian journalist for Het Laatste Nieuws, told Liverpoolfc.com: "Origi captured Belgian hearts during the World Cup with his important goal against Russia.

"Although he had a decent season at Lille, everyone in Belgium was surprised that Marc Wilmots called him up in his World Cup squad and, like in a fairytale, he immediately made his impact on the team - all captured in that one goal.

"Belgium discovered a young, elegant, technically gifted, fast striker. One who confirmed his potential in the other international games he played.

"For the award of Promising Talent of the Year he was competing with Tim Wellens, a cyclist who ended fifth in the Giro d'Italia, and cyclocross talent Wout Van Aert, World and European Champion in the U23s.

"We can't expect Origi to be world-class yet, although he showed glimpses of his huge potential. He's still a young player, with his highs and his lows. Everyone knows he's a bright talent.

"He's fast, technically gifted, elegant and powerful. But, at this moment, we don't want to raise the bar too high for him"